Alumni Stories

Kevin Gillespie

Culinary Arts

If you were willing to put in extra time and dig deep, the faculty [at The Art Institute of Atlanta] had a great breadth of knowledge they were happy to share.
Kevin Gillespie
, Chef and Owner, Gunshow, Revival, and Communion
Associate of Arts in Culinary Arts,
2003 , The Art Institute of Atlanta

2017 James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalist, Featured on Chick fil A Website for Tribute Recipe

Kevin Gillespie is working as the chef and owner at Gunshow Revival, and Communion in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s the author of the James Beard Award finalist cookbook Fire in My Belly and Pure Pork Awesomeness. Kevin has earned many awards in his culinary career, including being named a semifinalist in the Best Chef Southeast category of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards. Kevin was named as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award in 2010 and 2011, and was nominated for Food & Wine’s “The People’s Best New Chef” award in 2011. His other awards include Mother Nature Network’s top “40 Chefs Under 40” in November 2009, and Gayot.com’s “Top Five Rising Chefs.”
Most recently, he was featured on the Chick fil A website’s “The Chicken Wire” as a featured chef. A big fan of the restaurant chain, Kevin created a tribute dish, which he calls “Closed-on-Sunday Chicken Sandwich,” to honor the chain’s signature sandwich. The sandwich is served at his restaurant and has become a fan favorite.
In addition to his awards, Kevin was a contestant on the sixth season of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Kevin made it to the final round—winning several “QuickFire” challenges along the way. Creating unique food pairings—including escargots with an innovative bacon jam—Kevin found himself at the top or in the top three of nearly every elimination challenge. He also had the distinction of sitting at the judges’ table with legendary Chef Joel Rubuchon, considered one of the world’s best chefs.

Kevin’s culinary successes began while he was still in high school. He was named The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef, earning scholarship money to attend The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta. Taking the skills he gained in school into the real world, Kevin joined the kitchen staff at Atlanta Grill at The Ritz-Carlton and then began pursing a culinary career that would allow him to create dishes with fresh, organic, sustainable ingredients. Getting there took him to Portland, Oregon, but he soon returned to Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill—where his work in the restaurant was featured on CNN, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and Men’s Health. His most recent venture is Gunshow, where he focuses on southern food served dim sum style.
Kevin, who in 2003 earned an Associate of Arts in Culinary Arts from The Art Institute of Atlanta, says that his education provided a solid foundation for his career. He asserts that in education, you get out of it what you put into it. “If you are willing to put in the extra time and dig deep, the faculty had a great breadth of knowledge they were happy to share.”